European Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine

Introduction:  Dengue virus is the most common Arbovirus in India. It is transmitted by female mosquito-Aedes aegypti. It is a major public health problem world-wide, especially in tropical and sub-tropical areas and presenting as acute febrile illness. In present study we aimed to compare results of NS1 antigen test and IgM Antibody ELISA in clinically suspected dengue fever patients. Approximately 100-400 million dengue cases occur every year according to World Health Organization (WHO). Hence early diagnosis of dengue is essential to prevent complications and mortality. Materials and Methods: A total of 188 cases with clinically suspicious of dengue fever from the OP/IP patients with <9 days fever were included in the study. Blood samples were collected from all the cases under aseptic conditions. Serum was separated by centrifugation and subjected to detection of dengue NS1 antigen and IgM antibodies by ELISA. Results - Out of 188 samples, 46(24.5%) were positive for dengue infection.  Out of 46(24.5%), NS1 antigen was detected  in 14 (30.5%) samples, IgM antibody was detected in 8 (17.4%) samples, both NS1 &  IgM antibody were present in 24 (52.2%) samples. The sensitivity and specificity of NS1 antigen - 87.5% & 82.5%, for IgM - 80%&79.7%, for NS1 antigen + IgM antibody - 92.3% and 87.6% respectively. Conclusion: NS1 ELISA test method is an effective method for early diagnosis of dengue fever. Early detection is more important to prevent complications of Dengue. The combination of NS1 Ag test and IgM Antibody test by ELISA assay offers most sensitive and cost effective diagnostic tests in India.